Hand exercisers are well known in the art and include designs that range from the simple to the very complex. In general, hand exercisers are operated by squeezing two handles together to overcome a resistance force. The simplest design is based on two handles pivotally connected to one another via a coiled spring. A spring restraint is used to define a fixed maximum span between the handles. In the more complex designs, the spring resistance between two pivotally connected handles can be varied. Variable resistance devices are of great use to people attempting to build hand strength as in the case of hand rehabilitation and a variety of sports activities such as tennis, rock climbing, motorcycling, mountain biking, etc. Unfortunately, most of the variable resistance hand exercisers use complex spring mechanisms contained within the handles. Thus, the designs are expensive to manufacture and difficult to repair. Furthermore, both simple and complex hand exercisers generally define a fixed span between handles that greatly limit their usefulness for children or adults with small hands.